This invention concerns an adjustable, portable cooking stand that has a cooking platform for supporting a cooking vessel and legs pivotally mounted to the cooking platform that can be folded between a flat travel configuration with its legs parallel to the cooking platform and an open cooking configuration with its legs extended from the cooking platform to suspend the cooking platform over a fire or other heat source.
Cooking stands are used by campers and other people that spend outdoor time away from cooking facilities. Typically, the cooking stands are carried by hikers from camp site to camp site where they are used to support pots, pans, and other cooking utensils over a heat source, such as a fire from canned heat or other sources. The cooking stands must be sturdy for supporting the pots, etc. and their contents, and stable for avoiding tipping over when in use. Also, it is desirable for the backpacker to utilize lightweight and conveniently shaped cooking stands that can be easily carried in a backpack or other personal container for traveling between campsites.
Further, there are times when a campsite has uneven terrain for supporting a cooking stand and other utensils so it is desirable to have the cooking stand be variable in its configuration so that it can be set upon uneven terrain while presenting a cooking surface that is horizontal.
It is to the above features that this invention is directed.
Briefly described, the present invention comprises a collapsible, light weight, portable cooking stand that is suitable for sturdy and adjustable support for cooking utensils, such as pots and pans, and is foldable to a flat, compact configuration for transporting in a backpack or other container between campsites.
The cooking stand includes a cooking platform or frame that is formed of lengths of angle stock, commonly referred to as xe2x80x9cangle ironxe2x80x9d even though the material may be aluminum or other material besides iron. The cooking platform includes a frame of angle iron that forms a central opening that is to be placed over a heat source, such as a fire. Support legs are attached, each at one of its ends, to a corner of the cooking platform for supporting the cooking platform above the fire.
The support legs are pivotally connected at their upper proximal ends to the frame so that the lower distal ends can swing out from the frame for engagement with the ground surface. In this configuration, the support legs support the cooking platform over the fire. When the cooking stand is to be packed up for travel to another cooking site, the support legs are loosened from the cooking platform and the lower ends are pivoted up to parallel positions with respect to the frame, which significantly reduces the dimensions occupied by the cooking stand. When in this compact configuration, the cooking stand is capable of being packed in a small space within the typical backpack or other traveling container of the camper.
A feature of the invention is that the support legs of the cooking stand can be adjustably positioned so that an edge of each leg is moved into firm contact with an angle iron segment of the frame when the legs are extended for supporting a pot over a fire. This arrangement tends to avoid inadvertent collapsing of the cooking stand when the cooking stand is engaged by a heavy load, such as a large pot filled with water, etc.
Another feature of the invention is that each support leg is individually adjustable to assume a desired position, so as to accommodate placement of the cooking stand on an uneven ground surface while maintaining the cooking platform in a horizontal attitude.
Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a light weight, adjustable, collapsible camper""s cooking stand that is capable of being folded to a compact configuration for packing and traveling with a camper from campsite to campsite.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved cooking stand that forms a stable support for cooking utensils in an elevated position over a heat source, such as a fire, but can be collapsed to a substantially flat configuration for moving between campsites.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.